Submitted by EdelmanAgency IPI Score 94/100

Power Your Dreams

Influencer Marketing

Edelman ran a large-scale EMEA creator seeding and earned media campaign for the Xbox Series X|S launch, reporting 84M video views and coverage in 15 publications and markets.

84MVideo views
15Publications and markets
2,300+Launch week coverage pieces

About the campaign

Microsoft was launching the Xbox Series X as the world's most powerful console, but console reveals are quickly commoditised, and a claim about raw power means little when fans are only told about it rather than shown.

Edelman and production company UNIT9 built a launch the community could shape: a 3.6 metre monolithic structure inspired by the Series X chassis, erected on a central London rooftop and brought to life with real-time holograms, 3D animation, optical illusions, volumetric light beams and a Dolby 3D soundtrack. A six-hour countdown broadcast on the Xbox On Twitch channel and Microsoft's YouTube turned viewers into participants, with audience challenges around speed, power and legacy, comments and emotes projected onto the monolith in real time, hidden content to discover, and the chance to win a Series X and see one's name rendered in holographic form, giving a famously interactive audience an active stake in staying tuned.

The livestream reached a global audience of millions, and the work won Gold for The Game Changer and Gold for Creative Event of the Year at the Campaign Experience Awards plus a Design Week Award. The platform returned in 2023, when the Wake Up and Dream trailer, scored by Son Lux, aired during Thursday Night Football and Assembly Inc staged a free immersive takeover of Outernet London in December, tied to holiday releases including Starfield, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty and Forza Motorsport.

Case in 60 seconds

Microsoft needed to launch the Xbox Series X — positioned as the world's most powerful console — in a way that matched that claim and involved its devoted gaming community rather than simply broadcasting at them.

A product whose core promise is raw power cannot demonstrate that promise through passive advertising alone; fans need to feel that power directly, and putting them inside the launch gives them a reason to tune in and stay.

Turn the console launch into a participatory live spectacle: a monolithic structure inspired by the Series X, brought to life with real-time holograms and audience interaction, and extended years later into a free physical takeover at Outernet London.

Edelman and UNIT9 placed the monolith on a rooftop in central London and broadcast a six-hour Twitch countdown on Xbox On, featuring 3D animation, optical illusions, real-time holograms, a Dolby 3D soundtrack, and live audience challenges projected onto the structure in real time. In December 2023, Assembly Inc brought the campaign to Outernet London as a free immersive audio-visual experience tied to holiday game launches including Starfield, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty and Forza Motorsport.

The livestream reached a global audience of millions and the work won Gold for The Game Changer and Gold for Creative Event of the Year at the Campaign Experience Awards, plus two silvers and a Design Week Award for Digital Installation. Hard commercial metrics were not publicly disclosed.

Strategy Breakdown

The primary strategy-learning section — interpretation, not a press-release summary.

Gamers across the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), including growth markets that had previously had limited access to global spokespeople and campaigns that skewed toward English-speaking markets.
Xbox had lost market share in EMEA, a region Edelman calls critical to the future of the business, and needed to operate differently to win back gamers there.
Xbox had not launched a new console since 2013, and PlayStation had taken the lead in sell-through of hardware, visibility in the market and consumer trust across EMEA.
Xbox positioned itself as recommitting to gamers across EMEA after not launching a new console since 2013 and having focused earlier efforts on English-speaking markets, while its biggest rival, PlayStation, had taken the lead in hardware sell-through, market visibility and consumer trust across the region.
Local spokespeople were interviewed in each market alongside localised video content from Xbox Head Phil Spencer in eight separate markets, including Arabic and Polish language versions, giving EMEA audiences access to figures and messaging that had previously skewed toward English-speaking markets only.

Creative & Execution System

Assets & channels

  • Monolithic structure on a central London rooftop, inspired by the Xbox Series X chassis (seanpruen.com)
  • Six-hour livestream on the Xbox On Twitch channel (seanpruen.com)
  • Microsoft YouTube show broadcast (seanpruen.com)
  • Real-time 3D animation, optical illusions and holographic projection-mapped content for multiple camera angles (seanpruen.com)
  • Volumetric light beams mapped in real time, projected into the air (seanpruen.com)
  • Dolby 3D immersive soundtrack (seanpruen.com)
  • Live-action trailer Wake Up and Dream, custom scored by Son Lux, broadcast during Thursday Night Football on Prime Video and across global markets (Xbox Wire)
  • Free immersive audio-visual experience at Outernet London (December 2023) (LBBonline)

Partners

  • Edelman — lead agency (LBBonline)
  • Assembly Inc (Edelman agency) — experiential lead (LBBonline)
  • Edelman Deportivo — supporting agency (LBBonline)
  • UNIT9 — production company (UNIT9)
  • Son Lux — custom score for Wake Up and Dream trailer (Xbox Wire)

Participation mechanic

  • Twitch audience challenges focused on speed, power and legacy, with interactions projected onto the monolith in real time (seanpruen.com)
  • Viewers could add comments, answer questions and react with emotes for a chance to win a Series X and see their name displayed in holographic form (seanpruen.com)
  • Hidden content embedded in the broadcast for discovery by engaged viewers (UNIT9)

Creator role

  • No independent creator role; all content was brand-produced by Edelman and UNIT9

Results & Evidence

MetricValueResult typeConfidence
Total video views84MReachAgency reported
Publications and markets with interviews15Earned mediaAgency reported
Coverage pieces in launch week2,300+Earned mediaAgency reported

Awards & Recognition

Award showYearCategoryResultSource
Campaign Experience AwardsNot specifiedThe Game ChangerGold—
Campaign Experience AwardsNot specifiedCreative Event of the YearGold—
Campaign Experience AwardsNot specifiedOutstanding Creative IdeaSilver—
Campaign Experience AwardsNot specifiedBest Brand ExperienceSilver—
Design Week AwardsNot specifiedDigital InstallationWinner—

Why Edelman's strategy worked

  1. 1

    **Perform the product claim live.** The Series X was sold on power; the monolith activation demonstrated that power through real-time holographic effects and volumetric projection rather than asserting it in a trailer. The format was evidence of the brand promise, not merely a description of it.

  2. 2

    **Convert viewers into participants.** A six-hour broadcast risks audience drop-off unless viewers have a stake in what happens. By projecting live Twitch interactions onto the monolith and offering prizes to engaged participants, the activation gave fans an active reason to stay and to share.

  3. 3

    **Match channel to community behaviour.** Deploying the launch on Twitch via Xbox On met the gaming audience where it already lived and used the platform's native interaction mechanics — comments, emotes, challenges — rather than importing passive broadcast conventions.

  4. 4

    **A single brand idea can anchor a multi-year platform.** Running Power Your Dreams from the 2020 console launch through the 2023 Outernet London takeover shows that an experiential concept built around a durable brand line can be reactivated across different contexts without starting from scratch.

  5. 5

    **Hidden content rewards deeper engagement.** UNIT9 noted that the broadcast contained hidden content for fans to discover, creating a secondary incentive for attentive viewing and social sharing beyond the main spectacle.

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